What was this movie theater employee doing?
March 9, 2023 2:36 PM Subscribe
I just went with my partner to watch The Whale, and twice during the movie an employee came in, stood at the front of the theater and held something up that made a quiet clicking noise. What were they doing?
This was in a Showcase cinema in England. The film we saw was The Whale, and since it was a mid-afternoon showing on a weekday we were the only two people in the room, so the employee wasn't doing anything to do with other guests, because there weren't any.
They came in about halfway through the film, stayed for a minute or two, walked back out and then did the whole thing again maybe 15 minutes later. They stood in the aisle just to the bottom right of the screen, facing forward (towards the screen). I couldn't see any lights, so if they were using an electronic device it wasn't a phone or tablet or similar. Any ideas?
This was in a Showcase cinema in England. The film we saw was The Whale, and since it was a mid-afternoon showing on a weekday we were the only two people in the room, so the employee wasn't doing anything to do with other guests, because there weren't any.
They came in about halfway through the film, stayed for a minute or two, walked back out and then did the whole thing again maybe 15 minutes later. They stood in the aisle just to the bottom right of the screen, facing forward (towards the screen). I couldn't see any lights, so if they were using an electronic device it wasn't a phone or tablet or similar. Any ideas?
Yeah, they're counting attendees.
posted by bluedaisy at 2:47 PM on March 9, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by bluedaisy at 2:47 PM on March 9, 2023 [2 favorites]
If they were facing toward the screen, they could not have been counting attendees. I don't have a definitive answer, but I suspect it is somehow related to the problems the whole industry is encountering with maintaining screens and projection systems. That article is specific to the US, but the problem is worldwide.
posted by OrangeDisk at 2:55 PM on March 9, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by OrangeDisk at 2:55 PM on March 9, 2023 [3 favorites]
Right, you don't need a counter for two people and you don't have to do it twice within 15 minutes. It does sound like some kind of measurements for sound or light. I can imagine them having special versions that don't light up so they can limit distractions for the audience.
posted by soelo at 3:14 PM on March 9, 2023
posted by soelo at 3:14 PM on March 9, 2023
Best answer: There was a similar question on Reddit a while back. TLDR: they may be checking screen quality, discouraging bootleg recorders, and looking for any disturbances.
posted by chrisulonic at 4:19 PM on March 9, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by chrisulonic at 4:19 PM on March 9, 2023 [2 favorites]
How many employees were doing this? in 3 places in your Q it's "an employee". And then more employees were doing that?
But anyway, it could be something to do with bootleging.
posted by amfgf at 5:49 PM on March 9, 2023
But anyway, it could be something to do with bootleging.
posted by amfgf at 5:49 PM on March 9, 2023
How many employees were doing this? in 3 places in your Q it's "an employee". And then more employees were doing that?
The OP seems to be using singular "they" to refer to the employee.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 7:17 PM on March 9, 2023 [7 favorites]
The OP seems to be using singular "they" to refer to the employee.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 7:17 PM on March 9, 2023 [7 favorites]
Best answer: The facing towards the screen seems puzzling! I know you could Google this yourself, but I was intrigued.
This r/askUK thread contains this:
At my cinema we have to check the screen every 30 minutes for people recording/ on their phones etc. we have a tiny device like a phone we tick off when we’ve checked a screen maybe it’s that?
And this one contains:
I work in a cinema- screen checks are done 3x per showing and it’s mainly to check for piracy and illegal recording, and also just things like picture/sound quality, screen temperature, people being disruptive etc.
There's a lot of other stuff about using night vision goggles to check for illegal recording, but that would obviously involve the person looking at the audience. The above two quotes indicate activity that might not entirely require facing the audience.
posted by fabius at 5:17 AM on March 10, 2023 [3 favorites]
This r/askUK thread contains this:
At my cinema we have to check the screen every 30 minutes for people recording/ on their phones etc. we have a tiny device like a phone we tick off when we’ve checked a screen maybe it’s that?
And this one contains:
I work in a cinema- screen checks are done 3x per showing and it’s mainly to check for piracy and illegal recording, and also just things like picture/sound quality, screen temperature, people being disruptive etc.
There's a lot of other stuff about using night vision goggles to check for illegal recording, but that would obviously involve the person looking at the audience. The above two quotes indicate activity that might not entirely require facing the audience.
posted by fabius at 5:17 AM on March 10, 2023 [3 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by nandaro at 2:43 PM on March 9, 2023 [2 favorites]